Enjoying this album this morning. The wife and I are having a new roof put on, so while having a cup of coffee and chatting with the roofer, we discussed everything under the sun; ie, the reason for our existence here on earth, extraterrestrials, God, etc, with TFK playing in the background. I may have converted our roofer to progressive rock. To think, he doesn't even know yet about Neal Morse, Transatlantic, Kaipa, Karmakanic, Spock's Beard, Porcupine Tree, etc. Oh, what a lucky man he is!

I thought I read that wrong and you put Atomic Kitten at first Funnily enough was playing my one and only Chris Rea album tonight , first time in ages 'God's great banana skin' i love Nothing To Fear on there. What other's would you recommend?Also good to see Abba , they did write some very well crafted songs in my opinion. Fave being Winner Takes It All

Hi Gooner!'God's Great Banana Skin' is a fine album, I agree. and Nothing To Fear is a great song. Personally, I would recommend any album from 'Water Sign' onwards, but my favourite, without any shadow of doubt, is 'Dancing With Strangers'. There are some wonderful songs on there, and some brilliant guitar playing. Listen to songs such as: 'Joys Of Christmas', 'Windy Town', 'Curse Of The Traveller', 'I Can't Dance To That' and the two brilliant instrumentals that end the album, 'Donaghue's Broken Wheel' and the gorgeous 'Danielle's Breakfast'.A fabulous album imo.I also agree about 'Winner Takes It All', probably my favourite Abba song. Although I do have a great liking for 'The Day Before You Came' too. A very clever, poignant lyric on that one.

Cheers Carl...Deaf, Numb & Blind was on the sample disc Nov made for me so I've enjoyed that one since June...I love Stupid Girl - it sounds to me like an Iggy Pop song ...also really like Astral Dog and am getting well-into Garden of Dreams - at first play it sounded very disparate but now it just seems to flow a lot better...who knows - I probably thought the same about Suppers Ready the first time I heard it!

Thanks for the advice...

You're welcome Fraser. As to your comment about 'Garden Of Dreams', it took me about three or four listens to really appreciate it, but then I was hooked. 'Flower Power' was the first FK album I bought, and I was instantly hooked. And I agree with your comment about 'Supper's Ready' too. Some people think that doesn't flow well, but I think it's brilliant. My favourite epic of all time....though 'Garden Of Dreams' is probably neck and neck with it now for me.As for 'Stupid Girl' it always reminds me of a cross between Simple MInds and U2 in a way. (Don't laugh now!)

Also have to add I don't own any Hackett or Gabriel albums apart from his hits.

You do have a lot of catching up to do Gooner!I have every Hackett album, with the exception of the new one, 'Tribute' and that will be rectified over the next couple of months.Also got to say I agree with Nov's comment about 'Keyholder' by Kaipa. A brilliant album, with my favourite Kaipa track on it, the breathtaking 'A Complex Work Of Art'. Stunning.

Just found this on a website...I know some of you will have seen it before but I thought it was interesting non-the -less...now that I'm a fully paid up member of the Flower Power fanclub!

allmusic:Released in early 1999, Flower Power was at the time the most adventurous project the Flower Kings had undertaken. This two-CD set features on disc one "Garden of Dreams," an 18-part 60-minute mammoth epic. With its 140 minutes, Flower Power is hard to digest even for the dedicated fan and, truth be told, the Flower Kings would have been better off releasing "Garden of Dreams" as an album of its own and then rework and make a more rigorous selection in the remaining material for use on a future album. Some filler material on disc two drags down the average quality of the album. Considering its length, "Garden of Dreams" is a tour de force: Musical ideas follow one another in a succession of tableaux unified by a common mood and a few recurring themes. Worth to note is the fact that the piece was written by guitarist Roine Stolt and Tomas Bodin together, something highly unusual; on previous albums, Stolt wrote 90 percent of the material, letting Bodin slip a short piece of incidental music once in a while to serve as a bridge between two beefier songs. Here, their collaboration helped crystallize maybe the best example of the Flower Kings; sound in a roller coaster hour with very few below-average moments. But disc two is a disappointment: "Deaf, Numb & Blind" is a nice song, but it doesn't stand a chance against "Garden of Dreams" or older pieces like "There Is More to This World" and "In the Eyes of the World." "Psychedelic Postcard" is very original and quirky by the band's standards and includes a strange verse and intermezzo that seem inspired by Absolutely Free-era Frank Zappa. While "Power of Kindness" and "Magic Pie" are uneventful numbers, the mid-tempo "Calling Home" and "Painter" show potential but don't seem to reach their full emotional strength. Are the Flower Kings doing too much? One thing is sure: "Garden of Dreams" would have had a lot more impact as a stand-alone track.

Inside Out presents a triple bill tour with two of Sweden's finest alternative prog bands Beardfish and Ritual, and Swedish/British outfit The Tangent. An Evening with three of todays finest imaginative and individual bands. Do not expect the same as usual.

Just found this on a website...I know some of you will have seen it before but I thought it was interesting non-the -less...now that I'm a fully paid up member of the Flower Power fanclub!

allmusic:Released in early 1999, Flower Power was at the time the most adventurous project the Flower Kings had undertaken. This two-CD set features on disc one "Garden of Dreams," an 18-part 60-minute mammoth epic. With its 140 minutes, Flower Power is hard to digest even for the dedicated fan and, truth be told, the Flower Kings would have been better off releasing "Garden of Dreams" as an album of its own and then rework and make a more rigorous selection in the remaining material for use on a future album. Some filler material on disc two drags down the average quality of the album. Considering its length, "Garden of Dreams" is a tour de force: Musical ideas follow one another in a succession of tableaux unified by a common mood and a few recurring themes. Worth to note is the fact that the piece was written by guitarist Roine Stolt and Tomas Bodin together, something highly unusual; on previous albums, Stolt wrote 90 percent of the material, letting Bodin slip a short piece of incidental music once in a while to serve as a bridge between two beefier songs. Here, their collaboration helped crystallize maybe the best example of the Flower Kings; sound in a roller coaster hour with very few below-average moments. But disc two is a disappointment: "Deaf, Numb & Blind" is a nice song, but it doesn't stand a chance against "Garden of Dreams" or older pieces like "There Is More to This World" and "In the Eyes of the World." "Psychedelic Postcard" is very original and quirky by the band's standards and includes a strange verse and intermezzo that seem inspired by Absolutely Free-era Frank Zappa. While "Power of Kindness" and "Magic Pie" are uneventful numbers, the mid-tempo "Calling Home" and "Painter" show potential but don't seem to reach their full emotional strength. Are the Flower Kings doing too much? One thing is sure: "Garden of Dreams" would have had a lot more impact as a stand-alone track.

I remember when I bought Flower Power being initially influenced by people saying that disk 2 wasn't worth bothering with so for many months I didn't which is a travesty really.

I do agree that maybe they should have released it as 2 separate albums as there is just so much to digest on there that it's easier for the casual fan to just play it once and there-after say that it's over-blown.